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Construction is underway for San Franciscos new Transbay Transit Center an estimated 4billion project described as the Grand Central Station of the West

Bradken to Supply Structural Castings for Transit Complex

June 24, 2013
304 castings, 75 unique geometries U.S.-made steel castings

Kansas City-based Bradken Inc. was selected by contractors building a San Francisco development project to produce over 300 large-scale steel castings in 75 unique geometries. The “cast nodes” will be structural elements of the Transbay Transit Center, a $4-billion transportation and housing project in that city, described as “the Grand Central Station of the West.”

The Transbay Transit Centerwill replace the current Transbay Terminal in San Francisco with a regional transit hub uniting 10 transit systems connecting eight counties in northern California. It’s part of a larger redevelopment program that will include a 61-story skyscraper. The Transit Center will have five levels, two of these below ground.  The lowest level will house train platforms, topped by a concourse level, and then a street-level entrance, an upper level for administrative offices and retail shops, and a level for local bus service, a Greyhound terminal and an Amtrak station. Above all this will be rooftop public park.

The extensive project is not due for completion until 2019.  The Transbay Joint Powers Authority overseeing the development unanimously accepted the recommendation of Bradken for the supply, made by the Webcor/Obayashi joint venture that is managing construction.

The value of Bradken’s assignment was not announced, and the production details were not included. The 304 steel castings will range from 3,600 to over 46,000 lb, and will be produced in the U.S.

Bradken is a multinational manufacturer with operations in Australia, Europe, and North America supplying rail and transit, mining and construction, military, and general industrial markets. Its North American foundries are in Atchison and St. Joseph, MO; Amite, LA; Chehalis and Tacoma, WA; and London, ON. In addition to producing low- to high-alloy steel, wear-resistant steel, and stainless steel castings, Bradken designs cast structures and produces patterns, and it has machining and fabricating capabilities for those products.

"Our involvement with this project started in 2010,” according to Wayne Braun, Bradken’s Industrial Products Business Development Director. “We extended every effort to support the design and contractual objectives sought by the TJPA and Webcor/Obayashi Joint Venture as we bid for this project.”

About the Author

Robert Brooks | Content Director

Robert Brooks has been a business-to-business reporter, writer, editor, and columnist for more than 20 years, specializing in the primary metal and basic manufacturing industries. His work has covered a wide range of topics, including process technology, resource development, material selection, product design, workforce development, and industrial market strategies, among others. Currently, he specializes in subjects related to metal component and product design, development, and manufacturing — including castings, forgings, machined parts, and fabrications.